Been hearing this term for a long while. It's specially prevalent in games where there's a strong competitive scene or in games where you can practice min-maxxing. You won't use the term (normally) in a game like The Sims or any other game where there is no "goal" to achieve; but if there is a goal (even just a boss fight) and there are multiple alternatives to tackle it, you will hear the term eventually.

I remember it from early StarCraft, where balance patches would often "shift the meta" making some build and strategies so good (or bad) that you basically had to use them (or couldn't use them) if you wanted to be competitive.